-------------------------Monitor------------------------ The Newsletter for PC-Based Data Acquisition and Control Issue 108 www.windmill.co.uk July 2007 --------------------ISSN 1472-0221---------------------- Thank you for subscribing to Monitor. I hope you enjoy the newsletter but should you wish to cancel your subscription you can do so at https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html CONTENTS ======== * Windmill News: Video Tally people counters use Windmill software * Excel Corner * DAQ News Roundup ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Windmill News: Video Tally People Counters use Windmill Software ________________________________________________________ Biodata are pleased to announce new, low-cost, people counters. Called Video Tally, the new system uses CCTV cameras and intelligent units to count people. The counts are collected on a PC using Windmill Software. Video Tally is designed for businesses which want to monitor people coming through just one or two doorways. The small Video Tally unit connects to a CCTV camera above a doorway. It determines when people are passing through the doorway and increments its people count. Every five minutes Video Tally gives its count to the Windmill data collection software running on a PC. The count is stored in a text file which can be analysed in the software of your choice, Microsoft Excel for example. Windmill has also written the configuration software for the Video Tally system. This lets you fine tune the people counting settings for each doorway. For example, during setup you can make adjustments for: - shadows, - the height of the camera above the floor, - whether crowds are expected, - people turning sharply left or right after entering, - whether children should be counted, - lighting conditions, - different situations such as counting people getting off escalators Other Windmill programs supplied with the new system include "VT Real Time" to display the live, on-going, count and "VT View Log" to show an historical record of the logged data. For more on counting people with Windmill contact sales@biodataltd.com or see the Video Turnstile People Counter site ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Excel Corner: Can I Choose the Markers in a Scatter Chart? ________________________________________________________ "Can I choose the type of marker used in a scatter chart?" asked Charles Willson when he filled in our Excel Help form. Here's how... 1. In your chart double-click a data marker which you wish to change. The Format Data Series box appears. 2. Choose the Patterns tab. 3. Select the style of marker you wish. For more tips on creating Excel charts see https://www.windmill.co.uk/excel/excel-charting.html For information on using Excel for data acquisition see https://www.windmill.co.uk/excel/ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ DAQ News Roundup ________________________________________________________ Welcome to our roundup of the data acquisition and control news. If you would like to receive more timely DAQ news updates then grab our RSS newsfeed at https://www.windmillsoft.com/monitor.xml. Read https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsfeed.php for notes on how to display the news on your own web site, read it via e-mail, mobile phone or a newsfeed viewer. New Vibration Powered Generator For Wireless Systems The periodic replacement of batteries is not feasible for embedded applications and is highly unattractive in wireless sensor networks containing hundreds of sensor nodes. Engineers at the University of Southampton have developed an efficient kinetic energy generator which generates electrical energy from the vibrations and movements present within its environment. The generator has been designed to power wireless sensors that monitor the condition of industrial plant and is intended to be installed within an air compressor unit. Source: Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/ Earplug provides steer-by-tongue control A new sensor detects tongue movements inside the mouth and converts them to cursor movements or wheelchair commands. Engineers of Southern Illinois University suspected that tongue movements could be detected using ear pressure, because the way the Eustachian tube connects the middle ear to the back of the mouth. In tests people wore a custom earplug containing a microphone pointing into the ear. This microphone picked up subtle pressure changes inside the ear caused by the tongue forcing air around. Each movement created a distinctive signal that could be mapped to a computer command or a wheelchair control. Source: New Scientist http://www.newscientisttech.com/ Printed electronics needs organic focus The use of organic semiconducting materials rather than silicon is a key development for the commercialisation of printed electronic components such as sensors, displays, and functional transistors, according to a report by Research and Markets. Source: Electronics Weekly http://www.electronicsweekly.com/ ISA Security Compliance Institute Proposed An ISASecure designation is planned to identify and promote security standards, conformant products and systems. Certification will provide the formal recognition of a product's conformance to an industry standard security specification. The ISA Security Compliance Institute is seeking founding members. Source: ISA http://tinyurl.com/2lsfae ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ * Copyright Windmill Software Ltd * Reprinting permitted with this notice included * For more articles see https://www.windmill.co.uk We are happy for you to copy and distribute this newsletter, and use extracts from it on your own web site or publication, providing the above notice is included and a link back to our website is in place. An archive of previous issues is at https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html and an index of articles at https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html Windmill Software Ltd, PO Box 58, North District Office, Manchester, M8 8QR, UK Telephone: +44 (0)161 834 6688 Facsimile: +44 (0)161 833 2190 E-mail: monitor@windmillsoft.com https://www.windmill.co.uk/ https://www.windmillsoft.com/ Do you have a question, comment or suggestion on this newsletter? Fill in this form to contact the editor.
July 2007
